1962 Citroën 2CV Sahara

Feature Article from Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car

You know that something is up when a vehicle literally doubles its high sales price estimate at auction, and this unusual four-wheel-drive Citroën fit the bill at the exclusive Bonhams & Butterfields Quail Lodge auction this past August.

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Unassuming in dark green, the Citroën 2CV Sahara was almost lost in a crowd that included cars like a prototype Porsche 911 2.7 RS, a one-off Vignale-bodied Ferrari 330 CT shooting brake and an Avions Voisin C30 Cabriolet show car. On the stage, a 1960 Jaguar E2A Le Mans prototype went on to fetch a world-record $5,067,500, proving that there was serious money in the joint.
And those possessing that money were seriously interested in this little French curiosity. A well-known car, the 1962 Sahara 4x4 was chassis number 0449. One of 694 Saharas built between 1960 and 1971, this car was originally owned by the National Park Authority of Israel (Keren Kayemeth Lelsrael), and it was purchased, along with another Sahara, in 1995 by Dov Grodman. Mr. Grodman combined the good mechanicals of one car with the good body of the other and parts from a normal 2CV to bring the car back to its finished state in 1998.
Our feature car appeared in the April 2000 issue of Classic Car magazine. Still fresh from restoration, its two individually started l3hp, 425cc flat-twin engines, one mounted conventionally under the hood and the other in the trunk, drove the car through the front wheels, the rears or both, and the two hydraulic clutches were operated by one pedal. Twin gas tanks were fitted under both front seats, with filler spouts projecting through each front door. With both engines engaged, author Paul Walton wrote, "When I put my foot down, it sounds like two marbles rattling around in a biscuit tin."
This Citroën was sold for $23,392 during the August 2003 Christie's Auction at the Concours d'Elegance Paleis het Loo in Holland, and it remained in a private collection until being offered at the Quail. As presented, the 10 years since its restoration were evident with some chips on the hood, uneven paint on the fenders and scuffs around the wheel lugs. The vinyl rollback top and strange suede-like material on the seats and interior panels have held up well.
In the years between this car's auction appearances, other 2CV Saharas have crossed the block, and their sale prices have been strong. A 1963 Sahara, which was restored between 2002 and 2005, sold at Coys Auctions' Auto Moto D'Epoca in Italy in October 2007 for $55,418. Another 1963 Sahara, this one a French registered car restored in 1990, brought $50,162 at Coys Auctions' British & Continental Sports & Touring Motor Cars event in Germany in March 2008. On sale now by Florent Moulin (www.florentmoulin.com) is a nice original 1963 Sahara that has been in a Japanese private collection. This car sports a $77,762 price tag, one likely influenced by the astonishing $80,000 hammer of our feature car, both figures a far cry from the $11,500 average value of a front-wheeldrive 2CV. With just 27 Saharas believed to still exist, the prices for remaining examples continue to rise.
AUCTION NOTES
Auctioneer: Bonhams & Butterfields
Location: Quail Lodge, Carmel, California
Date: 8/15/2008
Lot Number: 331
Condition: Restored/#3
Auction Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000
Sale Price: $93,600 (inclusive of buyer's premium, exclusive of sales tax)

This article originally appeared in the December, 2008 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.